Question
What are my cloud storage options and how much storage space do I have?
Overview
UC Davis offers several options to Faculty, Staff, and Students for their cloud storage solution. All members of UC Davis receive campus provided at no cost storage space from Box.com, Microsoft OneDrive, and Google Drive. All three services offer workstation synchronization, mobile access, and support for uploading most file types.
For larger storage needs, departments may also look into Amazon Web Services for expanded cloud computing and storage. You can see how to sign up for that here: https://kb.ucdavis.edu/?id=5267.
Answer
UC Davis offers the following storage solutions to active UC Davis members:
Please note: Your cloud storage accounts using your UC Davis credentials and/or UC Davis email address have always deprovisioned from the campus license when leaving UC Davis. This can cause issues with files and data stored for use for departments, labs, and other shared groups.
To avoid work stoppages and data loss, work with your local IT which may be found on this listing https://kb.ucdavis.edu/?id=0457 for assistance in transitioning your cloud storage to a place that will ensure work can continue upon your departure from UC Davis.
As you prepare your information for possible data transfers as you leave UC Davis, please keep in mind the following:
- University business records, which may include emails and attached documents, stored in email inboxes must not be transferred to personal accounts, as they belong to the university and may be subject to specific requirements on the disposition of those records. Whether or not created or stored on university devices, these records can be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act or other legally required purposes.
- Personal information about others that were collected and/or maintained in emails for the purpose of official university business duties must not be transferred to personal accounts. Keeping this information beyond official duties may be a violation of policy and applicable laws as a possible unauthorized use or misuse of records.
Box.com
All active UC Davis members are provided with unlimited storage (establishing Box quotas to match the OneDrive service is currently under evaluation) with the Box.com collaboration tools. This resource is excellent for projects that require a degree of redundancy, access to multiple people associated within or outside the UC system, and great ease of use. The service offers version control, file recovery, update notifications, and fine tune controlling for file access. Departments may request departmental Box.com accounts for storing institutional/business data. These requests should be directed to ithelp@ucdavis.edu.
Box.com Support Links
- Box.com for UC Davis
- Box.com Frequently Asked Questions
- Box.com Knowledge Base Support
- Box Help Pages
- Box Sync
Google Drive
Google now provides active students and staff with 20 GB storage space among the Google Drive, DavisMail, and Google+ Photos services. Google Drive is an excellent collaboration tool for working on documents and spreadsheets. This service allows for real time editing by multiple people, and the robust level of access by Google.
Google Drive Support Links
- Google Drive for UC Davis
- Google Apps for Education
- Google Drive Installation for Synchronization
- Check your storage utilization
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft Office 365 customers at UC Davis currently have access to one terabyte (1 TB) of cloud storage at no additional cost for active faculty, staff, students, and affiliates. Microsoft OneDrive offers online browser editing within Microsoft Office documents in real time, automatic version control, compliance with industry standards security, and offline editing automatic synchronization. Plus, it offers the largest amount of storage space without added costs.
Microsoft OneDrive Support Links
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a set of robust tools for cloud computing, networking, storage, web hosting, and much more. UC Davis employees may request this service through the IT Catalog to meet their storage needs for a variable price. AWS may even be integrated into your department’s existing infrastructure multiple ways depending on your storage needs. The following is a brief list of storage services by Amazon:
- Amazon S3 is a scalable storage solution in the cloud that allows access to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the internet.
- Amazon Glacier is a low-cost archive storage solution for information that is not needed often but demands saving. This is ideal for data archiving and backups.
- Amazon EBS is EC2 Block Storage Volumes for moving data between Amazon virtual servers. While it may not be ideal for personal/business storage, it’s perfect for cloud computing environments.
- AWS Storage Gateway is a storage service that integrates on-premises IT environments with Cloud storage seamlessly.
Amazon Web Services Support Links